Today they are one of the longest-standing Breton music groups surviving from the folk-rock revival of the 1970s. A popular live band in France, Tri Yann is famous for their outlandish costumes and theatrical presentation on stage. The band members are multi-instrumentalists, and usually the number of instruments on the stage is usually far greater than the number of musicians.
Current members:
Jean-Louis Jossic - Vocals, bombarde
Jean Chocun - Vocals, mandolin, guitar
Jean-Paul Corbineau - Vocals, acoustic guitar
Gérard Goron - Vocals, drums
Jean-Luc Chevalier - Electric guitar, bass guitar
Konan Mevel - Bagpipes, flutes
Fred Bourgeois - Vocals, keyboards
Christophe Peloil - Vocals, violin
Former members:
Bernard Baudriller - Bass guitar
Jérôme Gasmi - Drums
Christope Le Helley - Flute
Les Prisons De Nantes
Tri Yann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y'avait un prisonnier.
Personne ne vint l'voir
Que la fille du geôlier.
Un jour il lui demande
Oui que dit-on de moi ?
On dit de vous en ville
Que vous serez pendu.
Mais s'il faut qu'on me pende
Déliez-moi les pieds.
La fille était jeunette
Les pieds lui a déliés.
Le prisonnier alerte
Dans la Loire s'est jeté.
Dès qu'il fut sur les rives
Il se prit à chanter :
Je chante pour les belles
Surtout celle du geôlier.
Si je reviens à Nantes
Oui je l'épouserai.
Dans les prisons de Nantes
Y'avait un prisonnier.
The lyrics of Tri Yann's song, "Les Prisons de Nantes," tell the story of a prisoner in the Nantes prison who was visited only by the jailer's daughter. One day, he asks her what people are saying about him, and she tells him that he is going to be hanged. The prisoner asks her to loosen his feet if he is going to be hanged, and she obliges. Once free, the prisoner jumps into the Loire River and begins to sing. He sings about the beauty of women, and especially that of the jailer's daughter, who he says he will marry when he returns to Nantes.
The story portrayed in this song is one of romance, desperation, and a desire for freedom. The prisoner would rather die than be hanged, and he sees the jailer's daughter as his source of hope for a better future. The song's melody is melancholic, and the lyrics are powerful, conveying the emotions of the singer effectively.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans les prisons de Nantes
In the prisons of Nantes, where people are kept confined as punishment
Y'avait un prisonnier.
There was a prisoner, a person detained in these prisons
Personne ne vint l'voir
No one came to visit him, to see him and talk to him
Que la fille du geôlier.
Except for the daughter of a prison warden, who accompanied her father to work
Un jour il lui demande
One day he asked her a question, he inquired of her
Oui que dit-on de moi ?
What are people saying about me? What is the public's opinion of my situation?
On dit de vous en ville
People are saying about you around town
Que vous serez pendu.
That you will be hanged, executed by hanging
Mais s'il faut qu'on me pende
But if I need to be hanged, executed by hanging
Déliez-moi les pieds.
Release my feet from these bounds, restrain me no more
La fille était jeunette
The girl was young, perhaps inexperienced and impressionable
Les pieds lui a déliés.
She released his feet from the restraints, granting him his wish
Le prisonnier alerte
The alert prisoner, bright and quick-witted
Dans la Loire s'est jeté.
Jumped into the Loire river rapidly and resolutely
Dès qu'il fut sur les rives
As soon as he reached the shore, the banks of the river
Il se prit à chanter :
He began to sing, expression of his joy and gratitude
Je chante pour les belles
I sing to the beautiful women, to those who inspire me
Surtout celle du geôlier.
Especially to the prison warden's daughter, the one who helped him escape
Si je reviens à Nantes
If I come back to Nantes, to this city and its prisons
Oui je l'épouserai.
Yes, I will marry her, the one who showed me kindness and compassion
Dans les prisons de Nantes
In the prisons of Nantes, even in such a desolate place, there can be moments of unexpected beauty and human connection
Contributed by Bella K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.